


Our Work Is Never Done

by TheDarkStrategist



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 20:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7984921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkStrategist/pseuds/TheDarkStrategist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Exalted Council weighs heavily on Inquisitor Lavellan's mind as the Inquisition prepares to depart for Orlais. At times like this, she can't help but be thankful to have Josephine on her side. What would she do without her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Work Is Never Done

Lou stood in front of the mirror and looked herself over. She was wearing her formal uniform, the one she'd worn to the Winter Palace a few years ago, and she was searching for any imperfections in the outfit. A tear, a wrinkle, anything. She had to make sure she looked absolutely impeccable before she, Josephine, and Cullen left for the Exalted Council in Orlais.

Lou could barely recall the last time she'd been this anxious. The only time she could ever remember being this nervous had been when she was dealing with Corypheus. She knew she was being somewhat silly. The Exalted Council just wanted to discuss the Inquisition's actions and whether it was still a necessary entity to have around.

 _That_ was probably what had Lou in such a tizzy. She was afraid the Exalted Council would want to have the Inquisition disbanded and Lou wasn't sure she wanted that.

She went back and forth on it constantly. Some days, when work had been especially rough, Lou was all for disbanding the Inquisition and enjoying a nice, quiet life with Josephine up in Antiva. Other days, after she'd had a long day of having to help people put their lives back together, she couldn't even imagine wanting to disband the Inquisition because there were still people out there that needed help.

But was it the Inquisition's place to go around fixing everything? That was the question that always caused Lou to go back and forth on what she wanted to do.

She heard the door to her room creak open and Lou hastily started buttoning up her dress uniform and smoothing it out. It was probably one of the Inquisition's scouts coming to let her know that it was time to leave and she'd rather not have them walk in to see their leader half dressed.

"Darling?" Lou heard a familiar voice call.

Lou sighed and relaxed a little. She spun around to see Josephine, who was leaning awkwardly against a wall, unsure of whether or not Lou wanted her in here currently.

"Josie," Lou said happily, rushing forward to envelope her girlfriend in a tight hug.

Josephine generally wasn't surprised when Lou was affectionate with her. While Lou was definitely reserved when first meeting people, once she got to know you she was an open book and was prone to displaying her fondness for people through touch. If you were her friend, it was best to assume that you'd be receiving hugs or an arm around your shoulder daily. If you were her lover, you were showered with affection whenever it was conceivably possible.

This time, however, was different. The way Lou was holding her felt... _off_...somehow. It felt like Lou was holding her as if she were an anchor that was keeping her from drifting away into the metaphorical sea. It was a strange contrast to the usual unreserved joy that went into most of Lou's hugs.

"Is something wrong?" Josephine asked concernedly.

Lou stiffened. Was it really that obvious? She hadn't even said anything yet but Josephine could apparently already tell Lou wasn't her usual self today.

Lou really shouldn't have expected anything less. They'd been together for over two years now and Josephine had always been perceptive to Lou's changes in mood.

Lou pulled away a bit so she could see Josephine's face, but she kept her arms wrapped firmly around her girlfriend's waist. "I...yeah. It's just nerves. I'm fine."

Josephine could tell that she was not _fine_ but she could tell pressing the subject further would get her nowhere. Instead, she started fiddling with the buttons on Lou's formal attire.

Lou raised an eyebrow in surprise and let a small, amused smile tug at her lips. "As much as I would love _that_ , don't we have a meeting to attend?"

Josephine rolled her eyes and swatted Lou on the shoulder lightly. A couple of years ago a comment like that would've set her face aflame. Now, she had grown accustomed to Lou's playful teasing and it usually did little more than make her giggle or groan. Or both.

"All of these buttons are in the wrong holes," she explained as she continued fiddling with the buttons.

"Oh," Lou said sheepishly. "Um, yeah, I didn't know who was coming in, so I finished getting dressed in a hurry."

Josephine giggled at that and finished fixing Lou's outfit.

Lou looked down at her clothes and then back to Josephine, her face a mask of uncertainty. "Do I look ok? I don't look like a mess, right?"

Josephine brushed back a few locks of hair that hung in Lou's face. Lou's short hair was growing out again and it was getting that messy, tousled look. She knew Lou was worried that it would appear slovenly to the Exalted Council. Josephine personally found the look to be very attractive on her but she knew that she was more than a little biased.

"You look fine, my love. Quit fretting."

Lou chuckled. "That's usually _my_ line."

"Ha. True." Josephine cupped Lou's face in her hands and pressed her forehead against hers. "We're going to be fine. We survived the Winter Palace the first time around and we shall do so again."

"I...I know. I...thank you, Josie." Lou placed her hands over Josephine's and then sighed tiredly. "Alright. Let's go."


End file.
